One In Four European Jews Afraid To Wear Jewish Symbols In Public

October 18, 2013

2 min read

European Anti-Semitism

And the LORD thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, that persecuted thee. (Deuteronomy 30:7)

European Anti-Semitism
A recent survey shows that one in four European Jews is afraid of wearing Jewish symbols, such as the kippah, in public due to rising anti-Semitism. (Photo: David Berkowitz/Wikimedia Commons)

In a survey that polled 5,100 Jews in nine European countries, one quarter of respondents that they avoid visiting Jewish locations and wearing Jewish symbols in public due to fears of anti-Semitism, according to the Jerusalem Post.

Fear of wearing a kippah and other identifiably Jewish items was especially strong in Sweden, where 49 percent of 800 respondents said they refrained from such actions, in a survey conducted this year among more than 5,100 Jews by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights.

In France, 40 percent of approximately 1,200 Jews said they avoided wearing such items in public, followed by Belgium with 36 percent, according to preliminary results from the survey, obtained by JTA.

In total, 22 percent of respondents said they avoided “Jewish events or sites” because of safety concerns.

“The results show that a majority of European Jews are experiencing a rise in anti-Semitism,” Gert Weisskirchen, a former representative of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe for fighting anti-Semitism, said Tuesday at a conference in Kiev.

The survey, which began Sept. 3, 2012 and closed last month, was conducted online in France; Britain; Belgium; Germany; Sweden; Italy; Hungary; Romania and Latvia. The full report is due to be published next month in Vilnius.

In Hungary, 91 percent of more than 500 respondents said anti-Semitism has increased in the past five years. That figure was 88 percent in France; 87 percent in Belgium and 80 percent in  Sweden. In Germany, Italy and Britain, some 60 percent of respondents identified a growth in anti-Semitism, compared to 39 percent in Latvia.

Figures for people who said they had experienced an anti-Semitic incident in the 12 previous months were 30 percent for Hungary; 21 percent for France and 16 percent in Germany.

Share this article

Donate today to support Israel’s needy

$10

$25

$50

$100

$250

CUSTOM AMOUNT

Subscribe

Prophecy from the Bible is revealing itself as we speak. Israel365 News is the only media outlet reporting on it.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter today to get all the most important stories directly to your inbox. See how the latest updates in Jerusalem and the world are connected to the prophecies we read in the Bible. .